Fort Worth Business Press, June 2, 2014 Vol. 26, No. 21

June 2 - 8, 2014 Vol. 26, No. 21 • $3.00 glor y Return to golfing By Scott Nishimura n [email protected] Woodhaven owners may revitalize club, neighborhood W oodhaven Country Club’s new ownership group is fronted, for the moment, by a former senior adviser to presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. But Sam Fairchild, who joins new club general manager John Bailey as the only two publicly identified members of Woodhaven’s new owner group, isn’t bragging on his resume. “I’m Sam Fairchild, and I work with John at Woodhaven Country Club,” Fairchild, former acting assistant transportation secretary to Bush, said in introducing himself to a taco dinner meeting of the Woodhaven Neighborhood Association in mid-May at the club. That Fairchild and Bailey, a former professional golfer, played to a full house was a good sign. See woodhaven u 18 photo by scott nishimura focus: economic development & redevelopment Office market getting stronger n A. Lee Graham [email protected] Surging construction and employment growth have pushed Dallas-Fort Worth office occupancy to levels unseen since 2006, according to a new report by PM Realty Group. In its first-quarter 2014 office market report, the real estate development and acquisitions firm reported that demand was strong from Sundance Square in Fort Worth to downtown Dallas. But Class A office occupancy has dropped in Fort Worth’s Central Business District, continuing a trend that’s lasted almost two years. Fort Worth CBD occupancy stands at 83.2 percent, 3.3 percent lower than the same time inside last year, according to PM Realty research. But numbers can be deceptive. “I think that’s less to do with demand than it has to do with supply because we’ve added significant numbers of Class A buildings to the downtown market,” said Kurt Cherry, PM’s executive vice president. “Any time you add inventory to the CBD in Fort Worth, it’s going to drag down the overall occupancy level.” With the Westbrook and Commerce buildings in Sundance Square Plaza offering more space, options abound for tenants looking to lease downtown. Hillwood’s mike berry mulls expanded Panama Canal’s local impact at Commercial Realtors Breakfast. P10 See office u 20 • Freese and Nichols oversee Parker County bond projects - P14 • OPINION: EB-5 program is key investment vehicle for North Texas - P16 • LISTS: Chambers of Commerce - P22 Tarrant County Area Economic Development Agencies - P23 P36 Ernie Pyle: D-Day success was a miracle